Heastie: Assembly Won’t Return To Albany, But The Senate Should (Updated)

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie in a statement Thursday said his Democratic-led chamber won’t return to the state Capitol, but the Republican-controlled Senate must in order to extend a speed camera program for New York City that’s due to lapse at the end of this month.

In the statement, Heastie also called on the Senate to approved the Reproductive Health Act, a bill that would strengthen abortion rights in New York as called for by Gov. Andrew Cuomo amid the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Assembly previously approved both measures.

“Let me be clear – the Assembly will not accept a watered down version of the Reproductive Health Act and will not play political games with women’s health,” Heastie said.

“Senate Republicans should also stop playing politics with the safety of our children and pass the extension of the speed camera bill. The lives of our children are too important to be worried about preserving political power.”

Sen. Marty Golden, a Brooklyn Republican, said in a statement Wednesday he wants a special session of the Senate to extend the speed camera program, which would shut down cameras placed near schools should it expired by July 25.

It’s not clear if Senate Republicans would be willing to return; any bills that pass would likely need Democratic support, given the potential for absences of some lawmakers.

“Senate Republicans must stop standing in the way of progress here in New York,” Heastie said. “They need to stop trying to water down good bills in order to please their ever-shrinking political base.”

Updated: Senate GOP spokesman Scott Reif in a statement ponited several measures lawmakers in the Assembly could take up, including extending mortgage recording taxes in upstate counties.

“They ignored our comprehensive school safety package that would have kept students safe and given parents peace of mind. They folded their arms and refused to discuss important education reforms, as well as legislation to extend New York City’s speed camera program” Reif said.

At the same time, he pointed to the package of transparency measures sought by government reformers for economic development.

“On top of that, they failed to pass common-sense procurement reform and the so-called “database of deals” that would have introduced much-needed transparency and accountability to the state’s economic development programs – – instead siding with the corrupt Cuomo administration. As for his statement that he won’t accept a ‘watered down’ RHA, it’s important for the public to know that passage of this bill would represent a radical policy shift that would allow non-doctors to perform abortions and allow them right up until the moment of birth,” Reif said.

“We are always open to having real and substantive discussions if they can lead to a positive result for the people of this state, but if anyone is playing politics it’s the Speaker and his Cuomo-controlled Assembly.”

This entry was posted by Nick Reisman on July 12, 2018 at 10:19 am, and is filed under Assembly, State Senate. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.